KUALA LUMPUR: The government aims to have at least two Bumiputera companies listed on Bursa Malaysia by the end of this year.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Bumiputera Rapid Acceleration and Value Enhancement (BRAVE) programme launched today will be a game-changer in building and boosting the Bumiputera entrepreneurial ecosystem towards achieving that target.
He said BRAVE would offer alternative financing of up to RM1 million for high-performing Bumiputera companies at a competitive profit rate of just 3.5 per cent, in addition to introducing comprehensive capacity building initiatives to help companies advance to a higher level.
"A total of 15 companies will be selected in the initial phase, and from that number, five will receive intensive mentoring to prepare them for listing on Bursa Malaysia by the end of this year," he said in a speech at the launch of the BRAVE programme at the Parliament building here today.
His speech was delivered by the Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development, Datuk Ewon Benedick.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Minister of Rural and Regional Development, noted that as of 2022, out of a total of 945 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia, only 62, or just seven per cent, were majority-owned by Bumiputeras.
"More concerning is that over the past four years, only one Bumiputera company has been listed compared with 96 non-Bumiputera companies. This reflects an urgent reality; we cannot remain complacent with the 'status quo' but must step out of our comfort zones and create change.
"To achieve this target, strategic training in areas such as investor relations, corporate communications, post-Initial Public Offering (IPO) growth strategies, prospectus preparation, and due diligence must be carried out meticulously, alongside strengthened collaboration with industry partners,” he said.
Meanwhile, touching on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Ahmad Zahid said the sector currently accounts for 97.4 per cent of all businesses in Malaysia.
In 2023, this sector contributed over RM631.1 billion to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and RM152.2 billion to exports, and most importantly, provided more than seven million job opportunities.
"However, despite this strength, our MSMEs are still plagued by three key challenges - limited access to capital, low competitiveness, and constraints in scaling up,” he said.
He expressed hope that the BRAVE programme would also serve as a high-impact accelerator or catalyst for the sector. - Bernama
